What playing d&d does is give WOTC money, which I'm generally against. But my hate has abated a lot since they put the back catalog up on PDF for cheap download. That earned WOTC a shiatton of brownie points.

The deftly fast bard known as Robertson quietly strolled into the court yard that day. It was a wonderful day with the sun up high, the air cool with a soft spring breeze and townsfolk hustling amongst the flowing crowds. Robertson took up position nearby an aging weeping willow, standing tall in his brightly adorned garb. He slowly but with great intent withdrew his instrument, wonderfully inlaid with rivulets of mithril and carved from the bleached bones of a dragon.

*rolls charisma check*check failed

No sooner than he arrived, entire throngs of crowds began to gather nearby some to cheer but most to jeer.

*dexterity check*check passed

Soon the noise of the crowd easily overtook the failing bard and he retreated from the town square finding a nearby shadow to hide while the mob passed. He hid in the shadow thinking to himself "If only they knew". For what the crowd had no idea was that the evil Baron had hired the Bard to distract the townsfolk while he had his men slip into the mines and steal what they could.

When I was in high school I was very into D&D and other RPGs. At the time there was a media backlash, one of the first ones probably. At the time we had a house cleaner in once a week. One day my Mom said "the house cleaner found your D&D books, she was horrified and told me I need to make you stop playing". I was quite shocked. Then she said "so I fired her".

Kibbler:I remember back in the late 80's, some wacko church announced an event for everyone to bring in all of the albums, books, and other evil paraphernalia of that most decadent and horrible of Satanic cultural icons...Mr. Ed.

No really. Mr Ed.

And it was no joke either. The pastor fervently believed that Mr. Ed was sending Satanic messages to kids. A character from a TV show that, even then, had been off the air for 30 years.

And there was a rally and a bonfire, and hundreds of people came, and they all had Mr. Ed junk.

It was at that point that any slender remaining faith I had in the non-idiocy of humanity evaporated.

I remember back in the late 80's, some wacko church announced an event for everyone to bring in all of the albums, books, and other evil paraphernalia of that most decadent and horrible of Satanic cultural icons...Mr. Ed.

No really. Mr Ed.

And it was no joke either. The pastor fervently believed that Mr. Ed was sending Satanic messages to kids. A character from a TV show that, even then, had been off the air for 30 years.

And there was a rally and a bonfire, and hundreds of people came, and they all had Mr. Ed junk.

It was at that point that any slender remaining faith I had in the non-idiocy of humanity evaporated.

Jument:When I was in high school I was very into D&D and other RPGs. At the time there was a media backlash, one of the first ones probably. At the time we had a house cleaner in once a week. One day my Mom said "the house cleaner found your D&D books, she was horrified and told me I need to make you stop playing". I was quite shocked. Then she said "so I fired her".

That Christian fundamentalist anti-D&D stuff is a very large part of why I no longer consider myself Christian.

I first dabbled in D&D circa 1991, when a classmate in Junior High was trying it out and wanted to put together a gaming group. Knowing I had more friends, he was having me ask around for him. Apparently somebody I asked thought D&D = Satanism, because I got called into the school guidance counselors office and interrogated about trying to set up a satanic cult and that there were reports I was suicidal, all based on asking people if they'd like to try out D&D.

Well, the Guidance Counselor told my parents all about it. My Dad was a devout, textbook Southern Baptist. He strictly forbade me from ever playing D&D or owning D&D books, since he'd heard "all about this at Church". Well, that was it for me playing D&D for years. (I did play RPGs though, Star Wars especially, which my Dad didn't care about since they weren't "Dungeons and Dragons", he didn't even really know what D&D was other than it was satanic).

Bonus, the guidance counselor showed me "proof" that one of the kids had provided that D&D was Satanic. It was some promotional piece from TSR selling gaming miniatures. The miniatures of dragons were apparently "Idols" of "demons", and they were obviously selling satanic idols for worship purposes, the Guidance Counselor and Principal could see no other reasons at all for these tiny pewter statues. Trying to explain any other use was futile, they'd already already decided everything.

Fast forward to 1998. I've gone to college, and I've got a gaming group and are playing D&D on Saturday nights (and Star Wars on Tuesday nights).

I'm going to a different Church than my family did in '91, but in the same small town. I had come to think of this Church as much more easygoing and less uptight than the one we used to go to. I was starting to have tough theological questions, and was finding that detailed theological discussion was NOT what the Pastor liked. Since I was 19 he liked to pawn all my inquiries off on the Youth Minister, who was basically more about playing the guitar and singing rock songs about Jesus than about spiritual growth and theology.

Well, I had been volunteering at that Church for years. Every Saturday I would come in for a few hours and help out. Usually it would be some light janitorial work, some maintenance and troubleshooting on the computers and sound system, general "handyman" type work. Most of the time I was out by 2 or 3 PM. My D&D game started at 6 and it was a 1 hour drive to where we had the game.

One day there was a lot of work to do. Work was running late. At around 5 PM I let the Pastor know I'd have to call it a day and head on. He asked why was I leaving. I, perfectly honestly, told him I was going to a D&D game.

The way he reacted, it was like I told him I was going to a Satanic Orgy and Virgin Sacrifice. He basically accused me of doing just that. I told him it was a harmless game that was fun and was one of my big social outlets.

The Pastor made it clear that unless I brought in all my D&D books and "satanic idols" to be burned at the Church and confessed and repented in front of the Church that I was secretly a Satanist among them and repented that sin, I wouldn't be welcome at that Church anymore.

I got my my car, and I drove off. I haven't been back to a Church (for worship purposes, I've attended a funeral at one) since.

You know, I think that's part of the issue. Games like D&D risk exposing sheltered Christian kids to the ideas of different religions actually existing.

"Yeah, YOU may believe in one God. This priest, though, he believes in a group of deities, and he's still a good person. Of COURSE your preacher says he'd go to Hell. He'd tell you that, when you die, you toil in the Gods' wheat fields for decades as penance for disbelief. It's all good, though- once you serve your time, you go to the Mead Hall."

keypusher:FarkinHostile: I stand corrected on a point. Gooding was buried in Newport News. I was told his hometown in SC. That's what happens when you celebrate during a funeral instead of going to it.

Hold on, "you were told"? You don't know? You also said "you can go look at his farking grave, since that is where he was from, learned his trade, registered his multiple luxury cars, and was buried."

All of which is also nonsense, as far as I can tell. Did you just google the guy to use him in this thread and got a little careless? I mean, he practically destroyed your life, yet everything you say about him is false.

WARWICK, R.I. - Robert T. Gooding, 79, pastor of Apponaug Pentecostal Church in Warwick, died Wednesday, September 25, 2002, in Rhode Island Hospital, Providence. He was the husband of Irene Thomas Gooding. They had been married for 57 years. Son of the late Robert P. and Marjorie Taylor Gooding, he was born in Beaufort, N.C., and preceded in death by a brother, Thomas Gooding.

Pastor Gooding attended North Carolina State University, had an honorary degree from Zion Bible Institute in Barrington and was ordained in 1956. He was the "Voice of Glad Tiding" on radio stations WARV and WRIB for 22 years. He was a member and past president of Full Gospel Ministerial and Church Fellowship, and he was founder of Apponaug Christian Academy. (The School I went to before finally getting kicked out for not being a sheep)

keypusher:Not too challenging, evidently, if growing up in a medium-size town in upstate South Carolina 30 years ago is all it takes.

Oh good, you're from SC, you can go look at his farking grave, since that is where he was from, learned his trade, registered his multiple luxury cars, and was buried. While you are at it, do a little research and see where he lived and preached for over 25 years:

Robert T. GoodingPastor of the Apponaug Pentecostal Church

While you are at it, go fark yourself for telling me what I lived for over 7 years of MY life.

FarkinHostile:I LIVED that shiat for 7 years, forced to go to a Pentecostal church and school. The "Pastor" was a fire and brimstone southern baptist trained evangelical. Everything those two folks above said happened to me in one way or another. D&D, ALL rock music, ALL TV shows were satanically inspired and if you listened/played with them you were on your way to burn in hell for all eternity.

You know jack shiat about fundamental christian cults. WE do.

I am a novice pastor (I got my bachellors degree but cannot join a church because I will not swear allegiance to a fake leige)

These preacher anecdotes are so cliche`, I keep expecting Keving Bacon to dance his way into this thread.

/I dislike preachers more than anyone on here//still not buying it

Then you are a fool.

I LIVED that shiat for 7 years, forced to go to a Pentecostal church and school. The "Pastor" was a fire and brimstone southern baptist trained evangelical. Everything those two folks above said happened to me in one way or another. D&D, ALL rock music, ALL TV shows were satanically inspired and if you listened/played with them you were on your way to burn in hell for all eternity.

DnD did corrupt the hell out (into?) me. One moment I was an innocent nerd casting a spell, next moment I was a cynical smartass who realized that organized religion is bullshiat--thirty freaking years ago. Seriously, is the clueless old Pharisee's next rant going to be on the corrupting influence of ragtime music?

Remember when there was a moral panic back in the 80s about Ritual Satanic Abuse? I worked in a courthouse once where a psychiatrist was sued for about 5 million bucks between two plaintiffs for planting in their heads that their issues were the result of RSA. In other words, she was even battier than her patients. What's really sad is that the state psychiatric board didn't pull her license even after she lost the lawsuits...

This is the funniest shiat I've read while doing internet inventory in the back room of the game shop I work at part time.

/Hate 4th Ed., the new playtesting kit for D&D has me hoping. Character generation has a d20 Black Company feel to it.//Robertson is definitely an Ordo Hereticus Amalathian///Check out the new Torment project by Monte Cook - just had it's Kickstarter and busted some records.

Aidan:RatMaster999: digitalrain: orclover: D&nD has created at least 1 life. Wife an I met at a D&D game.

My husband and I did too.

My wife and I did, too. Stole her from the DM.

Semi-ditto. I definitely thought the DM was hot. Never did get anything good in the game by sleeping with him though. Still don't get anything. Bastard ran a homebrew campaign set at the 1889 Paris World's Fair last year and I didn't get to play. Frozen marbles in the bed time... :)

Other than him, I was the DM most of the time. I never really gave her anything too terribly good either. And if I did, I balanced it out by giving something good to the others as well. That sounds like an awesome campaign you had to miss out on. Yup, definitely time for frozen marbles. ;)

I can remember back in the 80s when my mom tried to take my D&D books away from me (not because of Satan, but because she thought I was wasting too much time on it). I simply told her "Would you rather I be out running around drinking and doing drugs?"

I retained my books.

Of course it was only a few years later that I discovered alcohol did actually cure me of my D&D habit.

odinsposse:Rhypskallion: If he cared about his viewers, he would tell them to stay away from alcohol. With alcohol, there are decades of statistics showing the lives that have been destroyed.

That all remind me, I want to go to a D&D game on Friday. What type of beer should I bring?

[bythepint.com image 680x510]

Oh.My.God.

You can buy bottled dragon's milk now?!I've only ever seen it at a micro brewers in Berkeley, and they were always out of it.Best damn beer I have ever tasted. Thanks for posting. I thought I would have to brew a clone someday.

Pat is right by the way. D&D has destroyed my weekends. Guess that's what I get for hosting / DMing.

Dixon Cider:I can't wait till he dies and is very disappointed!If not... I hope he is eternally assraped, rape-rape style, for all the lives this POS has destroyed with his ignorant and bigoted words.

How many kids committed suicide or lived in mental anguish because their parents were listening to what this taintwad said?He ranks up there with any destructive religious zealots in history...

That is the part that sucks abut being atheist. I know he will just be gone and never get a real commeupance that he has to face. It would be so nice to believe that there were some form of afterlife to punish him for all the damage he does.

Silverstaff:The Pastor made it clear that unless I brought in all my D&D books and "satanic idols" to be burned at the Church and confessed and repented in front of the Church that I was secretly a Satanist among them and repented that sin, I wouldn't be welcome at that Church anymore.

I don't think any in history ever didn't happen as much as this didn't happen.

Thursday nights we get tore up on fine weed and craft beers, order pizza and run thru Temple of Elemental Evil, using 1st edition rules.

/yeah! Its thursday!

Yeah, I hadn't played in probably 20 years and started doing this sort of thing again a year or two ago. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to play an rpg in person with a group using pencil, paper, dice and such. We use 3.5, though.

I saw it mentioned as Satanic on a crime show, I think it was Forensic Files.

To the shows credit, it did say that these kids were falsely accused because of their hobby.

The sad thing is, this whole hysteria happened because of a 15 year old runaway boy played a D&D/LARP game at his college (He was a young genius). A PI the family hired thought the boy had accidentally been killed in a session and his buddies covered it up.

Mom runs to the media and publishes a book about it. Boy is found alive months later and is diagnosed with Schizophrenia and eventually commits suicide.

The D&D = Dangerous trend merged with the Satanic Hysteria of the 80's and we got what we have today.

I'd like to think thanks to the internet and video games we're experiencing a Renaissance in the table top games and RPGs

I'm currently playing in the Fark Pathfinder game right now and I could be happier. :) Getting into an awesome group is key.

/Liked 4 ed, hope for good things in 5.0//Shadrowrun's 5.0 sounds really awesome as well

If he said something like, "Xbox or PS3 games will destroy people's lives and you should stay away from them.", well, his audience would abandon him in droves since most have them and know they're harmless. Also, I'd wager that people that still listen to this guy aren't going to be labeled as readers of anything except select parts of the bible, so expecting them to vet this as credible just won't happen.

Now that the gays are fighting back and winning, a niche group of book reading, dice throwing non-violent people are a perfect redirection for his hate spewing rhetoric.

I'll pretend he's right and that DnD has destroyed peoples lives. I'll even get crazy and say there's a 100 people we could list by name, location and DOB. I'll concede all of that, even if it's not true, and say he's right.

And that would only make DnD about a million times less harmful to humanity than his religion... And I have to use that number only if I'm talking in the modern era. If I go back in history then the harm done by his religion is absolutely incalculable. We are literally centuries behind where we could be if religion like his had never existed.